Coach Ole Wener will have to do without Ömer Toprak when his Werder side take on FC Nürnberg on Sunday afternoon (13:30 CEST). The central defender, who returned to the side against St. Pauli after a spell on the sidelines, picked up another calf injury in the week and will subsequently be unavailable for the weekend’s game. Toprak will undergo further examinations in order to get a full-scale diagnosis.
“It’s an unfortunate injury, both for him and us. It happened during training without anyone being at fault for it, and on the same calf as before, nearly in the same spot. We were able to increase his workload without any negative effects over the last weeks, to the point where we were optimistic that it was fully healed, especially after he featured against St. Pauli,” said the head coach. “Now, he’s been hit with a similar injury again. It’s very tough on Ömer to be injured during such a key part of the season. However, he’s taking good care of it, and is focused on returning to full fitness as soon as possible.”
The head coach will also be without Fabio Chiarodia on the weekend, as the 16-year-old is away with the Italy U17s. Werner was able to share a positive update on Marvin Ducksch, who was dealing with a minor issue during the week. The striker was able to join in on team training on Friday, and will be able to feature against Nürnberg. After suffering a nasal bone fracture against St. Pauli, Marco Friedl will need to wear a protective mask for the next weeks. “He’s feeling good and is able to play with it on. He’s able to see and it really suits him. He’s even able to win headers wearing it,” Werner shared.
